Author: Ludwig, Walther
Title: Cicero’s De officiis in Humanist School Instruction – The Philologus Incomparabilis Hieronymus Wolf and His Great Commentary (1563)
Review/Collection: "Ciceroniana on line" IV, 2, 2020
Editor: Société Internationale des Amis de Cicéron
Year edition: 2020
Pages: 337-352
Keywords: Héritage - Fortuna - Legacy, Philosophie - Filosofia - Philosophy, Rhétorique - Retorica - Rhetorics
Description: [Abstract Hieronymus Wolf (1516-1580), Rector of the Gymnasium at Augsburg, was one of the most prominent Classicists of the 16th century. Cicero’s De officiis was regarded at Wolf’s time as the best Latin book on moral philosophy. Wolf read that text with his students, commented on it, and published an edition with commentary at Basel 1563. The great commentary differs essentially from the usual philological commentaries: not only does it offer literary and structural explanations, but it also analyzes the morality of Cicero’s statements, and instructs its readers to act accordingly. Thus, it is a revealing document of humanist school instruction. The paper shows this commentary’s context and peculiarities in general, and also by a catalogue of specific examples. Résumé Hieronymus Wolf (1516-1580), Recteur du Gymnasium d’Augsbourg, était l’un des plus éminents classicistes du XVIème siècle. Le De officiis de Cicéron était considéré à l’époque comme le meilleur ouvrage latin de philosophie morale. Wolf a lu ce texte avec ses étudiants, l’a commenté et en a tiré une édition commentée publiée à Bâle en 1563. Ce grand commentaire diffère profondément des commentaires philologiques habituels : il offre non seulement des explications littéraires et structurelles, mais examine aussi la moralité des déclarations de Cicéron et conduit ses lecteurs à agir en conséquence. Il s’agit donc d’un document révélateur de l’enseignement scolaire humaniste. Cet article montre le contexte et les particularités de ce commentaire, en s’appuyant sur un certain nombre d’exemples précis. Riassunto Hieronymus Wolf (1516-1580), rettore del Ginnasio di Augusta, è stato uno dei più importanti classicisti del XVI secolo. Alla sua epoca il De officiis era ritenuto il miglior testo latino di filosofia morale e Wolf, che lo leggeva con i suoi studenti e con loro lo commentava, pubblicò nel 1563 a Basilea un’edizione commentata dell’opera. Questo notevole commento differisce in maniera sostanziale da quelli filologici usuali: non si limita infatti a proporre spiegazioni di carattere letterario e strutturale, ma analizza la moralità dei consigli dell’autore e insegna ai suoi lettori ad agire conformemente a essi, risultando di conseguenza una testimonianza illuminante sull’istruzione delle scuole umaniste. Il contributo mostra il contesto e le peculiarità di tale commento sia in generale sia attraverso una serie di esempi specifici. Biography Walther Ludwig (Walther.Ludwig@uni-hamburg.de), Professor em. for Classical Philology and Neo-Latin Studies at the University of Hamburg, born Stuttgart/Germany 1929, Dr. phil. Tübingen 1955, Dr. h.c. Vienna 2016, honorary member of the International Association for Neo-Latin Studies, and member of the Academies at Erfurt, Göttingen, Hamburg and the Academia Europaea at London; he was Professor at the University of Frankfurt/Main 1964-1970, the Columbia University New York 1970-1976 and the University of Hamburg since 1976; ca. 450 scholarly publications.
Works:
Link: https://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/COL/article/view/5497
Author initials: Ludwig 2020
Title: Cicero’s De officiis in Humanist School Instruction – The Philologus Incomparabilis Hieronymus Wolf and His Great Commentary (1563)
Review/Collection: "Ciceroniana on line" IV, 2, 2020
Editor: Société Internationale des Amis de Cicéron
Year edition: 2020
Pages: 337-352
Keywords: Héritage - Fortuna - Legacy, Philosophie - Filosofia - Philosophy, Rhétorique - Retorica - Rhetorics
Description: [Abstract Hieronymus Wolf (1516-1580), Rector of the Gymnasium at Augsburg, was one of the most prominent Classicists of the 16th century. Cicero’s De officiis was regarded at Wolf’s time as the best Latin book on moral philosophy. Wolf read that text with his students, commented on it, and published an edition with commentary at Basel 1563. The great commentary differs essentially from the usual philological commentaries: not only does it offer literary and structural explanations, but it also analyzes the morality of Cicero’s statements, and instructs its readers to act accordingly. Thus, it is a revealing document of humanist school instruction. The paper shows this commentary’s context and peculiarities in general, and also by a catalogue of specific examples. Résumé Hieronymus Wolf (1516-1580), Recteur du Gymnasium d’Augsbourg, était l’un des plus éminents classicistes du XVIème siècle. Le De officiis de Cicéron était considéré à l’époque comme le meilleur ouvrage latin de philosophie morale. Wolf a lu ce texte avec ses étudiants, l’a commenté et en a tiré une édition commentée publiée à Bâle en 1563. Ce grand commentaire diffère profondément des commentaires philologiques habituels : il offre non seulement des explications littéraires et structurelles, mais examine aussi la moralité des déclarations de Cicéron et conduit ses lecteurs à agir en conséquence. Il s’agit donc d’un document révélateur de l’enseignement scolaire humaniste. Cet article montre le contexte et les particularités de ce commentaire, en s’appuyant sur un certain nombre d’exemples précis. Riassunto Hieronymus Wolf (1516-1580), rettore del Ginnasio di Augusta, è stato uno dei più importanti classicisti del XVI secolo. Alla sua epoca il De officiis era ritenuto il miglior testo latino di filosofia morale e Wolf, che lo leggeva con i suoi studenti e con loro lo commentava, pubblicò nel 1563 a Basilea un’edizione commentata dell’opera. Questo notevole commento differisce in maniera sostanziale da quelli filologici usuali: non si limita infatti a proporre spiegazioni di carattere letterario e strutturale, ma analizza la moralità dei consigli dell’autore e insegna ai suoi lettori ad agire conformemente a essi, risultando di conseguenza una testimonianza illuminante sull’istruzione delle scuole umaniste. Il contributo mostra il contesto e le peculiarità di tale commento sia in generale sia attraverso una serie di esempi specifici. Biography Walther Ludwig (Walther.Ludwig@uni-hamburg.de), Professor em. for Classical Philology and Neo-Latin Studies at the University of Hamburg, born Stuttgart/Germany 1929, Dr. phil. Tübingen 1955, Dr. h.c. Vienna 2016, honorary member of the International Association for Neo-Latin Studies, and member of the Academies at Erfurt, Göttingen, Hamburg and the Academia Europaea at London; he was Professor at the University of Frankfurt/Main 1964-1970, the Columbia University New York 1970-1976 and the University of Hamburg since 1976; ca. 450 scholarly publications.
Works:
Link: https://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/COL/article/view/5497
Author initials: Ludwig 2020
